Feather Quills
by Smiley-chan
Summary: Drabble collection: various plots and pairings. Chapter 3: In his dreams he could hear the people screaming, calling them demons, but he wasn't even sure if this was really a memory or simply a statement he knew to be true about himself. He was a monster.
1. Wish

_Feather One: _**Wish**

Life is a clock. I decided this long ago.

What takes giant bites out of me, this sickness of the heart, told me that I would only continue to grow more ill until I simply died one day. What was the point of even trying after that thought? Fighting back against my terrible luck is something I, no one for that matter, will never have the power to do.

For all the looks he gives me, one would begin to think that I'm a horrible person. I would have once agreed with him, and I tell him that I do and am even tempted to prove him right. But I have never given him a reason to believe I am evil. As far as he knows, I've never gotten in a fist-fight with anyone. The number of actual lies that I've told in his presence is pathetically low. Perhaps I've never told him all he wanted to know and qualifies me to be the "dishonest bastard" that I am.

Yet, I will never have a need to be brave like he is. The time will come when I will simply be gone, and I'll know exactly when that time is. Until then, all I can do is run and dodge any attempts that death makes at me. I'm sure the ninja realizes how well I play this game and he is determined to win.

With a scowl he turns away again, this time not angry with one of my meaningless smiles. There is not need to use them any longer, and by the look in his unusually hard, yet honest eyes, this new development has got him worried. He is calculating how to get ahead.

How cute.

But I doubt that Kurogane will ever realize that he is the very reason that he has already lost. The single thing that kept me leaping from danger was the only real wish this ruined heart ever made, something that the Dimensional Witch would never be able to grant for all her power.

Life is a clock and my time ran out a long time ago.

I wished to be loved.

* * *

Lordy, I needed to get that out of my system. My first TRC fic. It is a drabble collection, so I'll add them as I write them.

What do you think?


	2. Sword Play

_Feather Two: _**Sword Play**

"Gods, hmm?"

The golden eyed one gently placed his cup of...something (whether is was tea or wine he wasn't sure; his trail of thoughts had wandered far from what he was drinking) on the table. He had thought that maybe, once he had reached death, he wouldn't be the same person he had been during life. Contrary to this believe, almost everything was very much the same. He was still as thin as a beanpole, unnaturally beautiful, and utterly obsessed with the man who was seated across from him. The exception was that he was no longer a king. Actually, he had graduated. He was a god.

"What compelled you to make that wish, I wonder?"

Yasha's voice was like molten butterscotch mixed with a deep husk and cleverness, and Ashura practically melted. It was truly very silly, but he had never heard the other king speak much. Its rather hard to form complete sentences when you are concentrating on trying to slice off someone's head _and _avoid hurting them altogether. Yet after countless nights of battles, they had come to understand each other to a degree. They were people with dreams and aspirations, and for one of them to do anything with less than full effort, it would be disrespectful to the other. It was almost a bond of kinship, of love, even if they would destroy the other person. They were both at a loss now that their mortal rivalry was relatively null and void in the afterlife.

"I don't know," Ashura answered calmly, successfully concealing his thoughts as his eyes flickered to Yasha's face. His lips pulled into a witty yet diplomatic smile. "An ego trip, perhaps."

Yasha-ou chuckled a bit, once again making warmth crawl down Ashura's spine. "And you traded our swords to the witch for this. It sounds like 'make love, not war'." His tone was almost playful.

The choice of expression startled Ashura; his first instinct was to rebuke that statement while blushing like a child. He found himself laughing however, a real smile replacing the shock on his face.

"Sounds like a plan."

* * *

Well, here's the second of many drabbles to come. I hope you liked it.

Squee! AshuraxYasha...sorta XD I appologize for the _extremely _OOCness. Their personalities are difficult.


	3. Whim

(SPOILERS: chaptre 148)

_Feather Three: _**Whim**

It had only been a wish. Not _even _a wish, something like a thought or a whim, but it was the reason that a mangled scream had been torn from his lips only moments before.

He didn't know how long they had been there in spiraling towers of brick and bars. It seemed like forever; memories of their past life were few and far between. In his dreams, he could hear the people screaming, calling them demons, but he wasn't even sure if this was really a memory or simply a statement he knew to be true about himself. He was a monster. He wasn't _normal_, and he was never meant to be around _normal _people. That was why they were there, rotting away in that dungeon but never allowed to die; the magic in both of their blood helped to sustain them.

But despite the fact that they were both locked away to keep others safe, he hated his prison from the depth of his heart. He clawed at its walls, often leaving bloody finger prints to mark his time there. All he wanted was to tear down what stood in his way, to run away and never look back.

So when the chance came for his wish to be granted, he had no second thoughts. When the voice told him that only one of them could escape, it took too long for his heart to hesitate. The power within him grasped onto his selfish impulse, creating the ideal situation for his dream to come true.

A sickening crack filled the air and he forgot how to breathe. He barely even registered that the boy from the tower was falling, his locks of golden hair fanning out behind him like the wings of angels. That sun-colored hair was now being matted with shades of crimson, the red pool now stretching and becoming larger. It was almost like it was reaching out, trying to drown him.

And he screamed.

-

Ashura seemed a little startled by the child's outburst, but gave him a kind, understanding look. Every night since he had taken Fai under his care, the boy cried out in his sleep, the final step to waking from his reoccurring nightmare.

Fai was fully awake now, relief flooding his small body. Ashura's cool eyes could sooth even the most panicked of souls, but what really calmed him was the King's extraordinary magical ability. The markings that criss-crossed his back were still new, still buzzing to suppress his excess powers. Fear of hurting others with only a thought, a whim, was something he was slowly learning to suppress as well.

But he knew that he was eventually have to pay the fair price for his actions, a fulfillment of the curse. However, he couldn't think of that now. Now that he had been given this new life. Now, as the blood was still fresh on his hands.

* * *

Oh my goodness...I think Chaptre 148 scarred me for life! (cry). Here's my attempt at filling in the missing holes of what happened, because frankly, CLAMPS short blurb on Fai's past did more to confuse me than anything else. And little Fai is scary... he's like a blonde Sadako. XO

And if you don't understand what's going on here, my best advice is to read the latest chapter. You will have a freaking heart attack.

Tell me what you think...please?


	4. Perception

_Feather Four:_**Perception**

"Oi, mage! Wall!"

The warning was rendered pretty much useless as the blond-haired man missed the doorway by about an inch and slammed his forehead into the wall. A muffled curse passed his lips as he recoiled, a pale hand sprawled across his face. It had been an odd thing to see; he had always possessed an inhuman amount of grace, but this kind of accident was becoming common. "Dumbass, watch where you're going."

Suddenly, Kurogane found himself fixed with Fai's single, ice-blue eye. He thought, for a moment, that he saw a scowl set on the blonde's face, before his eye closed and a thin smile stretched his lips.

"Silly me," the other man answered. "But my depth perception hasn't always been this off." Even under friendly pretenses, he felt the malice, the blame directed at him.

Kurogane clenched his teeth. "Funny, I always thought that even without that thing," his eyes flicked to the black eye-patch that covered the upper edge of his companions face, "your point of view sucked."

* * *

Post- Acid Tokyo Ark. As much as we all love Fai… he's got issues. Man, that hurt to write. What do you think? 


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